Should Smoking Be Banned in Public Restaurants?

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Introduction

﻿Should Smoking Be Banned in Public Restaurants? In the perfect situation, smoking policy would be set by bar or restaurant owners, and customers would patronize the establishments with the policy they prefer. Customers would decide?without the government?s help?if they want to avoid smoke-filled rooms or enter them. They might even choose to sit in an area sectioned off for smokers or non-smokers, but the ultimate issue is choice (Ruwart 1). When the government starts telling restaurant owners what their customers can and cannot do, the government is overstepping its boundaries. Our government aims to protect us?to save us from society?s evils. However, in an attempt to protect the public from the effects of passive smoking (second hand smoke)?of which, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in 1994, ?the statistical evidence does not . ...read more.

Middle

When asked if the ban caused owners to lay off employees or cut working hours, 29.7 percent of respondents answered ?yes?; 59 percent gave the same answer when asked if they experienced a loss of tips/gratuities for bar and serving-staff employees (1). The plight of restaurant and bar owners is often ignored, but it is a serious issue for them and for their employees. While the argument rages over the effects of smoking on public health, the question that remains is this: ?How much is society entitled to penalize smokers for their decisions because?in society?s view?those decisions are unhealthy?? (Samuelson). Smoking tobacco is not an illegal act, yet the 25 percent of Americans who do smoke are often treated as if they were criminals. ...read more.

Conclusion

One may not wish to be seated near an extremely obese person in a restaurant, but it would certainly be unconstitutional to deny service to these patrons. In modern society, the government knows better than to discriminate against minorities, senior citizens, or the physically handicapped; it does not hesitate, however, to discriminate against smokers. Personal choice is a simple principle that is highly valued in American society. Banning smoking in all public restaurants violates this principle and jeopardizes our freedom. Smoking should not be banned in all restaurants. A ban on smoking imposes unnecessary governmental interference in private business, affects business owners negatively, and discriminates against smokers. Like the black Southerner turned away because of racial segregation, the smoker is unfairly treated. Sadly, just when our government claims to be whisking away the clouds of smoke, it is legislating a cloud of discrimination. ...read more.

They would no longer have to worry about their best suit stinking of cigarette smoke and it would encourage more people to go out and hence, would bring more money into the economy. Non-smokers would not have to stress about their health, with passive smoking and the risk of getting some sort of cancer.